East Village Indian update needed

[efdee]

Where can I get a tasty, inexpensive Indian meal in the East Village these days? My search turned up Madras Cafe and Banjara, but some of the postings were pretty old. Are those places still there and are they still recommended? Other suggestions welcome. TIA

[D...DF]

Banjara's as good as ever. Crap decor but I've had only great food and service. I go about once a month.

[elyseNY]

I second Banjara. Every time I venture out to try some new place I'm profoundly disappointed. I've been in the general area for 11 years and Banjara is by far the most delicious Indian food out there in the East Village.

[septic tank]

I've had some bad experiences with Banjara -- particularly around delivery. But damn, their food is tasty -- when the flimsy plastic containers don't melt into the gravy, anyway. Tragically un-cheap. Not crazy expensive, but getting there.

Haveli is quality, but kinda meh and not cheap.

Brick Lane is excellent quality but ridiculously expensive and service has disappointed me in the past. Not sure they noticed that the bubble has burst.

Whatever my gripes, I would order from these places all the time if they'd lower their prices a smidgeon. As it is, they're a rare luxury.

[Pan]

I can personally vouch for Madras Cafe, with the caveat that if you want your utthapam or masala dosa to be genuinely spicy, you should ask the waiter for extra spicy little green chilis to be added. I haven't been to Banjara in years because of service problems, so I can't personally vouch for it. Haveli has never impressed me. Mitali East used to be my standby about 25 years ago, when that really was the best there was in the East Village. I haven't been there in a dog's age, but with the caveat that it's always possible they could have greatly improved in the interim, I think you can do better now. I always found their shrimp dishes to be highly questionable in terms of freshness.

[malibu]

none of them are all that great but if we have to stay in manhattan, my top 3 are:

brick lane
haveli
banjara

[emilie01]

I like all 3 of these also. I go to Haveli the most though, they're very nice there and always give us free mango ice cream! Hard to pass that up...

[LeahBaila]

Never been to Brick Lane, but I agree with the other 2.

www.thelunchbelle.com

[ukitali]

I personally like Mitali East.